Tuesday, May 28, 2013

The letter of the day is... aaaaaaaaaaargh!

When I have spare time (when?) I like to scrapbook about all of our adventures.  There is a store locally (Archiver's) that has a wonderful selection of scrapbook paper and decorations.  Walking into that store is like instantaneous inspiration.  I pick up paper that I am going to use right away, but sometimes will grab something just because I like it... and then I find myself on a mission to find a reason to use the paper.

Case in point: several years ago, there was an adorable pirate paper that I HAD TO HAVE.  I began researching pirates on the east coast.  After learning about Blackbeard, the Graveyard of the Atlantic, and all other things ACTUALLY pirate... voile.  Pirate Adventures of the Chesapeake.  #1 Trip Advisor activity in Annapolis Maryland.  Good thing we have adventure-loving family and friends in the Annapolis area!



So this past weekend we headed up for Memorial Day.  I packed shorts and t-shirts.  The weather didn't top 60 degrees, so on our way to the pirate ship we made a mad rush into Old Navy to find some cheap pants.  We met our friends, scarfed some lunch, and checked in for our sailing time. 

Its not easy becoming a pirate.  First things first, you either get a tattoo or some battle scars, and raid the chest of pirate clothing.  Pirates are tough. 



Next you learn some pirate lingo (scream AY! for yes, scream ARGH! to be scary) and some pirate mannerisms (scream don't whisper, finding treasure is very important, etc).  You learn to squeeze your fist and look scary.


And finally, you are a pirate.  You sneak through the parking lot and board your pirate ship.  Thankfully this pirate ship has a flat deck and a strong crew!


Before you go any further, you'll notice that there aren't a lot of photos of Matthew here.  That kid caught sight of those pirates and didn't want anything to do with them.  He didn't leave my lap or Nate's arms for our entire adventure.  He wanted nothing to do with face painting or dressing up like a pirate.  NOTHING.


Once everyone got their sea legs, the crew raised the pirate flag and we left the dock.  We traveled a random path around the Annapolis waterfront, waiving un-pirately at people enjoying their lunches at cafes and aboard other boats.  The crew kept the kids all incredibly engaged and involved, all the while keeping the parents entertained.  The whole thing was superbly done!  The crew clearly love kids and love playing pirate!  They didn't break character at all, and they were hilarious.



Luke was excited at the opportunity to check out the treasure map.  He helped Captain Rusty roll the map out, and tried to help find the treasure.  Along the way, the crew told them the story of the dastardly Pirate Pete, who always stole their treasure.  As we sailed along the harbor, we came upon Pirate Pete hanging out in his dinghy in shorts and a t-shirt.  Remember the temperature I mentioned?



As Captain Rusty commanded, the kids all took their spots at the water cannons along the side of the ship.  And with 4 successive passes, the kids each doused Pirate Pete with water, and knocked him off his little boat.  That dude must have been freezing.



After we stuck it to Pirate Pete, we found a black buoy with a white X painted on it.  Crewmember Boots raised the treasure chest out of the water, and everyone got a handful of treasure to take home with them.



All in all, a great adventure!  And now I have some scrapbooking to do... gotta dust off that beautiful pirate paper now that I finally have a reason to use it!

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

1 down, 59 to go


Our kids were all late teethers.  Between Luke, Will and Matt, only Will had poked through a single baby tooth by the time he turned 1.  At his last dentist appointment, Luke asked the dentist desperately when he would lose his first tooth.  She told him that late teethers like him typically lose their teeth late too.  So while the average age of first baby tooth loss is 5, Luke and Will would likely  be 6 when they lost their first tooth.

Will visited the dentist a few days after Luke.  And he had two lightly loose teeth.  We thought maybe Luke would be excited for Will, but instead he burst into jealous tears.  He's used to doing things first, I guess.  Whenever Will's loose tooth was discussed, Luke turned into a gloomy mess.

We've been wiggling Will's loose tooth regularly.  I was paranoid that it would fall out and he'd swallow or inhale it.  He seemed to think it was funny when we wiggled it.  I was preparing to have to pull it out some time soon.

I got an excited text from Will's teacher today that he had lost his tooth!  She had saved it from being ingested (thank goodness) and was sending it home with him.  He laughed hysterically when it came out.

Will seemed happy to show off the gap in his mouth.  For a while, Luke would approach Will, open his mouth and look inside.  He kept quiet.  Will didn't seem to mind the attention.  After the third time,  I asked Luke what he was thinking about... and that is when the drama started.  He started crying those jealous tears and dramatizing that Will was going to lose all 20 of his teeth before he even lost one.  I tried to explain that his time would come soon, but really nothing could take away his overly dramatic pain.

At bedtime, the boys gathered around Will's tooth pillow.  Luke seemed to forget about his sadness for a few minutes and asked if he could put Will's tooth in the pillow pocket.  He was happy to help place the tooth pillow near Will's head, and promised Will that he would keep an eye out for the Tooth Fairy.  Thank goodness he turned the corner and was excited for his brother... I was envisioning him stealing Will's tooth and trying to pawn it off as his own.

So I am waiting for them to go to sleep so that we can sneak in and play Tooth Fairy.  Our first time... the first of 60 Tooth Fairy impersonations we'll do over the next few years.  Nate picked up some $1 golden coins.  I looked up online that the going rate for a tooth these days is somewhere between $2 and $5 dollars.  Sorry kids, we're going for class over volume... plus if we paid $5 per tooth, we wouldn't be able to send you to college.  Or get you braces for those big honkin' adult teeth that are about to start pushing through.